When it finally dawned on me that I loved image-making more than anything else, I was already in my late twenties. In fact, by the time I got to Pomona (in Claremont, CA), my plan was to major in international relations and go live and work in Japan. And although I was interested in the arts, I was also interested in lots of other stuff, too, and felt that a broader education would help inform whatever I eventually chose to do with my life. By the time I graduated high school, I hadn’t had a single art class. Jules: Can you talk a bit about your background as an artist?Īaron: I grew up in Baltimore in the public school system. Without a story, however, I find images get lonely pretty quickly.Īaron: Watercolor on 300 lb Arches Aquarelle with pen and ink.Īaron: Pelham, Massachusetts, which for most people is more easily described as “up the hill from Amherst.”
Jules: Are you an illustrator or author/illustrator?Īaron: Personally, I think of myself as an illustrator first, but that’s because I really love pictures. We sat over our cups of strong coffee and ooh’ed and aah’ed a lot.Įven though we’ve had that short Kirkus chat this year, I still wanted Aaron to come over for a 7-Imp breakfast, ’cause 7-Imp breakfasts mean we see way more art. I loved it so much that one morning I, no kidding, called an emergency picture book coffee-shop meeting with two friends who love picture books as much as I do, ’cause I just had to show them this book. Journey has also been met with glowing reviews all around (mostly starred reviews), has been awarded the 2013 platinum “Best Book Award” by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, was nominated for Best Picture Book in the Goodreads Choice Awards, has been garnering Caldecott buzz, and was called nothing short of a “masterwork” by Sarah Harrison Smith in the New York Times.īack in August, when I chatted briefly with Aaron about this book over at Kirkus, I shared that I found myself with a very early copy of Journey after this post from last year when I sort of stumbled upon Aaron’s artwork and website. In fact, he just illustrated a special cover for yesterday’s children’s issue of the New York Times Book Review. Journey, his debut picture book, was very recently named one of the New York Times’ Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2013. If you follow picture books closely, you’ve probably already noticed this. (Aaron says he dines on Peanut Butter Captain Crunch when he’s feeling particularly brave, and I see he has some cereal bowls waiting for us.)Īaron is having a good year. I think this has become, hands down, my favorite interview picture from this year. See that? Author/illustrator Aaron Becker and Those Clever and Brave Children from Aaron’s Journey are waiting for me to join them for breakfast out in the garden.
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